Is there sufficient awareness of existing social and health services?

We believe that the greatest innovations come from synergies across sectors, so we have drawn on the expertise and backgrounds of those closest to the subject to find the answers. We would like to thank Lence Mikušová for the City of Hodonín, Daniela Jaklová Střihavková for Masaryk University and the Alliance for Individualized Support, Radka Klusáčková for the South Moravian Region, Department of Health, and Lucie Kovandová and Pavlína Pospíšilová for the Department of Social Affairs, Lenka Špaková for the Centre for Family and Social Care, Monika Škorpíková for the Department of Social Care of the Brno City Council, Leoš Fučík for Opus Lacrimosa and Martina Jelínková for the ICRC, NEUR-IN from the University Hospital at St. Anna. 

During the event, participants created models of target groups and defined the essence of the problem from which the lack of awareness of the population stems. There was also space to share their own perspectives and knowledge of the environment. As a result of the discussion, there was a consensus that while there is a wide range of services, many residents do not know about them or have effective access to them. This problem can affect all of us at different stages of our lives. The key aspects of this problem are:

• A reactive approach to information retrieval
• Information overload and fragmentation
• Low awareness of available services
• Stigma and taboo
• Lack of quality guiding

In the coming weeks, we will explore the defined issues in greater depth from the perspective of key actors on the ground. We will follow up the results of the qualitative research with a 2nd strategic workshop in the autumn months. Its intention will be to reflect more specifically on the data collected and identify key opportunities for which we will seek appropriate solutions. 

We will move from describing the problem to suggesting specific interventions and possible solutions to help mitigate the problem of low awareness during the autumn. Based on the data collected, we will hold a second workshop in September that will focus more on what tools can lead to raising awareness of the services available. The selected tools will then be prototyped and tested to see if they are a workable solution.

Do you know where you would look for information if you needed it?